The Price Of Life
by SpikeBuffy
Summary: Demons are acting up again, and it's up to Buffy & Spike to stop them.


The Price of Life  
By   
SpikeLover and Acathala 

He hurried through the museum. He had been forced to trip an alarm. Soon the place would be swarming with humans. He detested humans; they were like bugs that needed to be stomped on. Still the object he held now was worth the trouble. He batted door open, and came face to face with a young security guard. The guard said something, even moved towards him. He stopped. Stared. He began to scream. The screaming stopped abruptly a couple of seconds later. 

******

Buffy was in the graveyard. So far it hadn't been a good night. She was having trouble finding a grave. It was a grave of a teenager turned into a vampire. Buffy fought vampires and other evil demons. She was the Slayer. The Chosen One, who stood against the forces of darkness. Now she couldn't even find a stupid grave. 

She stopped as she heard a noise behind her. She turned round. There was nothing there. She turned round again slowly. She saw Spike standing there, a self satisfied smirk on his face. 

"Getting sloppy in your old age Slayer? I didn't expect you to fall for that one." He said while lighting a cigarette. 

"Spike." Buffy said wearily. "What are you doing here?" 

"Well let's see, this is a graveyard, and I do believe I'm a vampire. You work it out." 

"Spike, I'm not in the mood." 

"Which reminds me, how is Major Disaster? Pretend I care." He said, taking a puff on his cigarette. 

"If you mean Riley, he's in Iowa, visiting his family. Not that's any of your business." Buffy stiffly replied. "Why are you here Spike?" She demanded, getting annoyed at the blond vampire. Their relationship was complicated. They had tried to kill each other several times in the past, both nearly succeeding. Then a government agency caught Spike. They put a chip in his head, which prevented him from harming humans. Naturally Spike wasn't happy about this, but there was nothing he could do. So while he wasn't a friend, he wasn't exactly an enemy. 

His reply surprised her. "To see if you wanted any help." 

Despite herself she laughed. "You. You help me? That's a good one. So what happened? You hit your head on a rock? I don't need your help Spike." 

"Fair enough Slayer." Spike cocked his head to the side, as if looking at something behind Buffy. 

The next thing Buffy knew was pain. She found herself lying face down on the ground. The vampire who's grave she had been looking for, stood over her leering. Buffy acted fast. She kicked out the vampire's legs from under him, took out a stake. And staked him 

She got up. "Shouldn't hit people from behind. Mom should have told you that." She said watching the vampire turn to dust. Then she whirled round and confronted Spike. "Would it have hurt you to have said something?" 

"Can't have it both ways Slayer. You said you didn't need my help." Spike reminded her. "Oh nice shoes Slayer, did Red buy them for you?" 

Buffy looked down at her shoes for a split second. When she looked back up, Spike was gone. "Can't just walk away, they gotta make a big exit." She grumbled away to herself. Still, she could go to back to her dorm now; she'd have to be careful not to wake Willow who'd be asleep now. Maybe Spike had been serious about helping her. Yeah maybe she was the Easter Bunny too. 

Spike hated himself for feeling this way. Hated himself for loving his enemy. But he loved her all the same. He loved the Slayer. He loved Buffy Summers. He had tried to fool himself that all it was lust. But it ran much deeper that. It all started when he had that erotic dream. No it had started much earlier than that. That witch friend of Buffy had accidentally cast a spell on them both that made them fall in love. Although it had been dispelled he was still feeling the after-effects. He kept telling himself that. 

******

Buffy woke up all groggy. The phone was ringing. Never a good sign in the morning. She got up and put some slippers on. The phone had stopped ringing, Willow must have answered it. 

"Buffy! That was Giles, he wants to see you right away. He had 'world is going to end' voice." Willow called out. The young witch was way more awake than Buffy felt right now. 

"Great. The forces of darkness sure don't have any original thinkers. Their answer to everything is to end the world." Buffy sighed. "Willow, can you cover for me? Say I'm sick or something." 

"Sure Buffy, I always do. See you later at the Bronze?" 

"If the world hasn't ended." 

******

Gerthor held the dagger in his hand. It was a beautiful blade. It had been worth the trouble stealing it from the museum. It was so necessary to the ritual that would restore his people. There was a voice behind him. 

"Must we do this? So many innocents will die." 

It was Modral. Gerthor despised Modral for his weakness 

"Yes we must. For all we know we could be the last of our kind." 

"It just seems So wrong. So many will die." 

Gerthor rolled his eyes. "There are millions of humans. We are not going to wipe the entire race, as appealing as that sounds! Now for the human we must use, I have one in mind." 

******

"What was stolen again?" Buffy asked Giles. Giles was looking extremely unhappy. Buffy hadn't seen him this unhappy since they had buried Jenny Calendar. 

"The Dagger of Volois. A mythical object that can be used in any number of sacrificial rituals that end the world. The Council was unaware it still existed. This is most disastrous." 

"Wait up, sacrificial? As in killing a helpless victim?" 

Giles nodded glumly. "Most assuredly, but it has to be a specific victim to the ritual. All I can suggest is that you patrol more, and watch for anything unusual." 

Buffy managed a smile. "On the Hellmouth? I'll be spoiled for choice." 

******

At the Bronze Willow was feeling pooped. Buffy had to patrol so wasn't there. Xander and Anya were though. She decided to go back to the dorm. 

"Guys, I'm all pooped out. I'm just going to go back to the dorm." 

Xander got up. "We'll get you along, right Anya?" 

Anya spoke. "You can. I'm watching the next band." 

Xander rolled his eyes. "Right then Will, let's go." With that Xander and Willow left. 

Anya sat enjoying the music for a couple minutes, when Spike sat down beside her. 

"Awful trusting for an ex-vengeance demon, aren't you? He enquired of Anya. 

Anya replied. "Why, what do you mean by that?" 

"Well, letting Xander leave alone with Willow. After what they did do Cordelia and dog boy. I mean those two have a long history together, and you've only been with Xander for how long?" 

Anya felt very small then. "Xander loves me." 

Spike looked grave then. "Yes, I'm sure he does. Just like Cordelia." 

Suddenly Anya wasn't enjoying the music anymore. 

******

Outside Xander and Willow hurried back to the dorm, it was a bitterly cold night. There was a noise behind them, Xander saw Willow fall, He turned, got hit. He fell down into blackness, calling Willow's name. 

******

As Buffy patrolled she was increasingly aware that things were quiet, too quiet, and that was never a good thing. Quiet meant plotting and plotting meant evil. This was her third sweep of the area and so far there had been no vampires, not a single one. She hadn't even run into Spike who was always hanging around, waiting to make her life a misery. She sighed loudly and prayed that Giles had had some luck researching the dagger that had been stolen, she was beginning to feel a little uneasy. Her patrol being fruitless she decided to bypass the Bronze on her way home. She'd told Willow that she'd stop by if things were quiet, and quiet they most definitely were. 

She passed a phone on the way to the club and decided to call the dorm, just to make sure Willow wasn't there. There was no answer. Buffy hung up and carried on. 

The club was crowded as she entered, filled with the hot mingling bodies of almost anyone who had the vaguest shred of a social life. It being the only club in town, it was where everyone went. She scanned the room looking for Willow but couldn't see her, then her eyes fell upon a blonde head, there was only one person she knew who had hair that white-blonde. 

"Spike." She groaned. 

She saw that he was sitting with Anya but there was no sign of Xander, or Willow. Anya didn't look happy, who could blame her if she had Spike keeping her company? 

She walked over to the two. 

"Hi Anya." She said cheerfully, deliberately ignoring Spike. She didn't want to talk to him unless she had to. "Are Xander and Willow here with you?" 

Anya shook her head silently. Her thoughts plagued with the images of Xander and Willow that Spike has planted in her mind. 

"They left together about half an hour ago. Xander said he was going to walk Red home." Said Spike, a sly grin on his face. Now that he couldn't hurt people physically he had to go for the next best thing, and emotional pain could do just as much damage, if not more so. 

Buffy looked worried. Willow wasn't at home, she just called there, unless she was asleep. Not likely though. Their phone was loud enough to wake the dead. Anya noticed Buffy's face. 

"What's wrong?" She asked, becoming mildly concerned. 

"I called the dorm just before I came here. There was no answer." 

Spike raised an eyebrow that said 'I told you so'. It was all Anya could do to stop herself from crying there and then. 

"Maybe they went to Xander's to get something to eat." She said hopefully. Buffy didn't look convinced. 

"I'll go and call Xander now." Said Buffy and left, leaving Spike and Anya alone once more. Spike opened his mouth to say something but Anya cut him off. 

"Don't say a word. There is nothing going on with Willow and Xander. It's all ancient history, he loves me now and nothing you say is going to change that." 

She folded her arms resolutely, her voice covering the uncertainty that she actually felt. Just then Buffy returned. 

"They're not there either. Xander's mom said she hasn't seen him all night.". 

Spike smiled and Anya let out the tiniest whimper. 

"There's more." Buffy continued. "There was a dagger stolen from the museum last night. Giles thinks that some sort of sacrifice is going to happen. Aside from Willow and Xander going missing there have been no vampires demons or anything out tonight. I think something big is going on, and I'm starting to get the feeling that Xander and Willow are going to be involved somehow. We need to go and see Giles, find out if he's got any more information on this Dagger of Volois." 

Spike gasped. 

"The Dagger of Volois?" 

Buffy nodded. 

"No," he whispered to himself. "They wouldn't dare." 

Buffy looked at him in confusion. He actually looked quite scared which in itself was unnerving. 

"Spike?" 

"We need to go and see your Watcher." He said jumping to his feet. "Now." 

He ran out of the door closely followed by Buffy and Anya. A few minutes later they were all sat in Giles' lounge listening to Spike. 

"There's this race of demons, the Amorosi, they're almost extinct, only one or two tribes left. I heard on the grapevine that a couple had been spotted in town, didn't think anything of it until the Slayer said that the Dagger of Volois had been pinched. There's this ritual that will restore their race, and they need the Dagger to do it." 

Giles looked fascinated, and amazed that Spike knew all this. He'd been researching all night and hadn't come up with anything. 

"Do you know what the ritual entails?" 

Spike nodded. 

"They kill a human with the dagger and it then acts as a vessel. Anyone they kill with it raises an Amorosi demon, as long as they have human blood. I've come across one of them before and believe me if they can they'll wipe out the entire country." 

Buffy jumped to her feet. 

"They're going to use Willow or Xander!" 

******

Willow's eyes fluttered open as she swam back from unconsciousness, a dull throb resounding through her head. She sat up and looked around, she was locked in some sort of cell and Xander was lying next to her, still out cold. Shuffling over she knelt down next to him. 

"Xander?" She whispered. "Are you awake?" 

A low moan indicated that he was coming round. Finally his eyes focused on Willow. 

"Will? What happened." 

"I don't know. Something knocked us out. I don't know where we are." She looked around at the dimly lit room. "Somewhere not good I would say." 

Suddenly the door opened and a figure stood in the doorway. The light behind him blotted out his features, leaving just the image of a silhouette. 

"Good, you're awake." A voice rasped. "Now we can prepare for the ritual." 

The door slammed closed as suddenly as it has opened leaving Xander and Willow in darkness once more, wondering what exactly this ritual was going in entail, but having a good idea it wasn't going to be fun. 

******

Giles looked up from his book. He frowned and spoke. "The ritual Spike referred to, does exist but has not been performed in living memory. It does appear to take a substantial amount of time to prepare for. I would estimate we would have a day at best to find the Amorosi. 

Buffy cut in there. "What's the deal with them?" 

Giles spoke. "Apparently the Amorosi were originally a peaceful demon race, but they were hunted by both demon and man to the point of extinction. Now they seem developed a more aggressive approach." 

"Strengths, weaknesses?" Buffy asked. 

"They are seemingly as strong as a Slayer, but no other special powers or weaknesses." Giles informed them stiffly. 

"Right, here's what we're going to do. I'll try to find where they're keeping Xander and Willow. You guys do the research thing. I'll call in an hour." Said Buffy confidently. 

"Buffy" Giles started to say, but Buffy interrupted. "They have my best friends. They are not going to use them as pincushions." With that she walked away. 

"Right then, I'll be off. Have fun." Spike said this indifferently, making for the door. 

"Spike, we still need your help." Giles' words halted Spike for a moment. 

"Nah, bugger that for a laugh. I've done my good deed of the day already." 

"Spike, as I'm sure you know, the ritual can also affect vampires." Replied Giles. 

Spike considered this for a moment. He didn't have to help them, but there was a prospect of a good fight. Spike loved a good fight. It would also be a good chance to ingratiate himself with Buffy. 

"Fine then, I'll be good. What do you want me to do?" Spike said generously. 

"There may be a way I can slow down the ritual magically. I need supplies from the magic shop. I need you and Anya to get supplies from the Magic Shop while I do some more research." 

Five minutes later Spike and Anya were out in the cold. They had a shopping list from Giles. Anya was for once, quiet. Spike was unhappy at being used as the message boy. He decided to have a little fun. 

"So how does Xander feel about you being an ex-vengeance demon? I know it must be difficult for an ordinary bloke to accept his girlfriend having a bit of a thing for torturing and killing men in inventive ways." 

Anya replied angrily. "Shut up. Xander and Willow are in trouble, not making out. Willow has a girlfriend, and Xander would never cheat on me!" She glared at Spike, daring him to say something. But Spike could see the doubt in her eyes; there was a tiny bit of uncertainly in her mind. 

"Trapped alone together, now what does that remind me of?" Spike pretended to think out loud, bringing his fingers up to his chin. He was totally unprepared for the sudden slap from Anya. He felt the pain, and if he had been unchipped, he would have ripped her apart by now. Instead he smiled. He had gotten to her. "Hitting me doesn't make it any less true." He walked off, leaving Anya in tears. 

******

Buffy was in Willy's Bar. It was a place where you could get information about demons. After all, they did drink here. The place was practically deserted, which at night was a bad thing. She walked over the human owner Willy, he normally had information. He looked up.

"Hi kid. If you're for the Amorosi, one of them was here a couple hours ago." 

She felt a small bit of triumph. "What was it doing here?" 

"Recruiting. Four vampires were stupid enough to go with him to the old Cameron warehouse." He replied while cleaning a glass. 

She nodded and tossed some money on the counter. "Thanks Willy." 

He smiled. "Don't mention it kid." 

******

Spike and Anya had got all of what Giles had wanted. The ex-librarian was poring over an old book. His tea beside him had gone undrunk, and was colder than ice. He was going over every shred of material he had on the ritual, so he wouldn't miss anything. Suddenly he stopped reading. He reread the last paragraph. There was no mistake. He swore under his breath. Spike, who had very good hearing, stared at him. 

"What's up Giles?" Spike demanded, moving closer to try and read over Giles' shoulder. 

"I know why they took Willow." He took off his glasses, staring into space. He began to quote from the book. "If the blood of a witch be used, then the many around will be changed." 

"So what are you saying? That these demons have their own little Willow nuke! This is what happens when amateurs start doing spells. She wasn't happy just dabbling in the black arts, she had to steal boyfriends!" Anya stopped there, out of wind. 

Before Giles could say anything, Buffy came back. She looked pleased with herself. She spoke quickly. "Giles. I know where they are!" 

"Buffy, that's wonderful, but there is some bad news." They quickly exchanged information. Buffy's face hardened as she heard what Giles had to say. 

"They're not going to get away with this. I'm going to deal with them now. Willow and Xander are going to be okay." She said this more for Anya's benefit, as she seemed to be upset about something. She turned and started to leave. 

"Wait up Slayer. I'm coming with you." Spike joined her. 

Buffy gave him an icy glare. "I told you before, I don't need your help." 

Spike smiled. "Let you have all the fun? Not bloody likely. There's going to be good old rumble, and I'm not missing it." 

Buffy rolled her eyes. "All right then, come. Don't get in my way." 

"Wouldn't dream of it." Grinned Spike 

******

Xander and Willow were scared. It was dark and cold in their cell. They could hear rats scurrying about. They hadn't had any sleep, for fear one of them would be taken away. They huddled close together in a vain attempt to keep warm. 

Xander broke the silence. "Will, it's going to be okay. Buffy is probably looking for looking for us right now. The Buffster has never let us down." 

Willow managed a weak smile. "Yeah she'll find us." 

Suddenly the door opened and in walked a demon. It had skin the colour of milk, and eyes the colour of lavender. It was humanoid in shape and had no body hair. It spoke. 

"Quickly! You must go before he gets back!" 

Xander spoke up. "We're not playing your games! What happened to your ritual?" 

It replied calmly. "I can't go through with it. Even if means my race dies. You must go before Gerthor comes!" 

Xander whispered to Willow. "I think that he might be telling the truth. I'll go first." 

As they faced the demon, they heard a crack, and the demon fell towards them. Its' neck was broken. Willow screamed in terror. 

"Too late." Said Gerthor. 

******

Buffy and Spike had found the warehouse. They had also found the vampires Willy had talked about. There were four of them, tall and ugly. They looked like they had already won. 

One of them spoke. "Buffy the vampire Slayer, we've heard of you. Not impressed." 

Spike stepped forward. "If you've heard of her, you'll heard of me. The Big Bad. 

The vampire replied. "Yes, we know you too, Angel." 

Spike's mouth opened slightly with the indignation that these lowlifes would actually mistake him for that bloody poof.

"Yes" sneered one of the other vampires. "You love the Slayer, you're sick."

Spike frowned, things were getting a little too close to home for his liking. It was time for a bit of violence. With a roar he charged the largest of the four vampires, knocking him to the floor. The attack took everyone, Buffy included completely by surprise. They just stood and stared as Spike made mincemeat out of the vampires face. As he pummelled it suddenly occurred to Spike that he didn't actually have a weapon to finish the job off. Not letting his blows up for a second he glanced over his shoulder.

"Don't just stand there Slayer, get slaying."

His call was enough to draw Buffy's attention back to the current situation. Unfortunately however, it also caught the attention of the other three vampires. One of them yanked Spike off their fallen comrade whilst the other two headed straight for Buffy. Whipping out a stake she launched her attack, kicking one of the vamps and punching another. Still weaponless, Spike was fending off the other two vampire's using his fists.

******

Meanwhile, below them, Willow and Xander glanced up at the ceiling. It sounded like a fight was going on right above their heads.

"Buffy" Whispered Willow. Then she shouted at loudly as she could. "Buffy! We're down here!"

"Silence!" Rasped Gerthor, striking Willow and knocking her to the floor. Xander took a step closer to the demon. He was no Slayer but there was no way he was letting this guy hurt his best friend.

"Stay back boy. This is no concern of yours. You nor the Slayer can prevent the ritual from taking place."

Xander didn't flinch for a moment, he'd clearly never come across Buffy before.

"Would you like to bet on that pal?"

******

As Buffy continued to fight she suddenly heard Willow's voice calling out from below them. At least she knew that she was in the right place, and that she was still in time to stop the ritual. The distraction was all the vampires needed to gain the upper hand. One of them dealt her a powerful kick to the chest sending her flying past Spike and crashing headfirst into the wall behind him. She dropped to the floor and lay still. Leaving Spike to fend off the one vampire he was fighting the others went and stood around Buffy's prone form. Keeping one eye on his foe Spike glanced over and saw what was going on. They were going to kill her, and that bothered him more than he'd like.

******

Having left Giles still researching all he could on the ritual of Volois Anya headed back for the magic shop. For once she was actually grateful that he'd trusted her with a spare key. Responsibility wasn't something she was used to, but now it seemed to have its uses. All evening she'd been plagued with images of Xander and Willow making out and laughing at her. She'd since convinced herself that this was exactly what was happening. Spike had told her what had happened with Oz and Cordelia and it would be typical of Xander to crumble under the pressure of impending death and revert back to his old habits. Still she'd make sure that Willow never went near her boyfriend again. She may not be a vengeance demon anymore but she felt confident that she could cook up something sufficiently nasty if she had the right ingredients.

******

Charging past the vampire that he was fighting Spike ran over to where Buffy was lying, standing between her and her impending death. The four seemed amused by the way events were turning.

"Don't worry Angel, you'll soon be joining your precious Slayer in death."

Spike glanced down and saw that Buffy was conscious, just stunned by the blow to the head.

"Damn it Slayer, get up. I need a stake."  


One of the vampires brandished the stake that Buffy had dropped when she'd been kicked.   


"Here you go." He grinned before plunging it into Spike's chest. With a howl of pain he staggered back a step staring at the piece of wood protruding from his body. It took him a second to realise that he was still alive and not dust as he should be. With a grimace he pulled the stake out, cold fury in his eyes as he saw the end of the wood moistened with his own blood.

"Looks like someone wasn't paying attention in anatomy class," he hissed. "I think you'll find the heart," he rammed the stake home and watched the vampire crumble to dust "is there".

Buffy climbed groggily to her feet, feeling like someone was playing the Anvil Chorus inside her head. She noticed that the number of enemies had been reduced to three and that Spike was armed with one of her stakes.

"I don't know about you," she said to Spike. "But I'm a little tired of playing games with these guys. You ready to move on?"

"Way ahead of you Slayer." He grinned through the pain before dusting another of the vampires. Buffy made light work of the other two leaving her and Spike alone once again. Putting the stake in his pocket Spike clamped his hand over his wound, which Buffy noticed for the first time.

"What happened to you?" She asked trying hard not to display the twinge of concern she felt. Spike was the biggest pain in the ass she'd ever met, but she was pretty sure he'd just helped save her life.

"Bloody wanker staked me. Missed the heart." He replied.

"How bad is it?" She walked over and stood in front of him, prying his fingers away from his chest. "Let me see."

After a moments hesitation Spike allowed her to have a look. Feeling her fingers on his body caused him to take a deep, unneeded breath. The tingling sensation her finger brought overriding any pain he was in. He'd dreamt about having her this close to him before and now here she was.

Buffy frowned, the wound was deep but there wasn't much she could do about it. He'd heal up in his own time.

"You'll live.unfortunately." She grinned.

"You don't get rid of me that easily Slayer."

Buffy suddenly recalled herself. They were there to save Willow and Xander.

"Come on. We've got to find the others."

Nodding Spike followed her as they headed for the stairs which lead to the lower part of the Warehouse.

******

Anya sat on the floor of the shop, various ingredients burning in a small pot. She'd teach Willow to take Xander from her. She'd send her to a place where she'd never be able to think of him again. She was going to send Willow into the demon dimension. Xander would never know it was her who'd done it. He'd be a bit upset that Willow was gone she was sure, but she'd help him forget her. She began to chant.

******

As Gerthor loomed over the still fallen Willow he knew that he had to act quickly. It was only a matter of time before the Slayer arrived. Picking her up he began to carry her towards the chamber he had prepared for the ritual. He was stopped when the Slayer and a blonde vampire blocked the doorway. 

Buffy glared when she saw her best friend lying unconscious in the arms of the demon. He was going to be in pain for hurting Willow, a lot of pain. She stepped forward a pace.

"You are seriously going to regret messing with me and my friends pal."

Gerthor grinned. He'd just had an idea. Dropping Willow to the floor he brandished the Dagger of Volois. 

"The blood of a witch is powerful, the blood of a Slayer is more so. You will make a fine sacrifice for our cause."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"What is it with you demons and your need for sacrifices. You guys are never content with just killing people, it's always part of some complex ritual. Come on then, kick my ass, if you think you can."

Dagger in hand the demon took a step forward and then froze, a look of horror on his face. As if from nowhere a blue mist completely enveloped him.

"NOOOOOOO!" He screamed with the realisation of what was happening. When the mist cleared Gerthor was gone and the dagger was lying on the floor.

"Well, that was easier than I'd expected." Quipped Buffy, a puzzled look on her face. The others matched her expression. She glanced down at Willow who was now conscious and sitting up, Xander at her side.

"How did you do that Will?" Impressed at Willow's level of magic

Willow's brow furrowed into a look of deeper confusion.

"It wasn't me." 

Buffy knelt next to her two friends, pulling them into a hug.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay."

Spike rolled his eyes, still trying to get over the fact that he'd been staked trying to save Buffy. He was getting more and more like that bloody ponce Angel every day. This was the effect the Slayer had on him, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Well, this all nice and cosy people but do you think we could possible get out of here before I bleed to sodding death."

The three looked up at Spike, clearly having forgotten he was there.

"Spike, you can't bleed to death, you're already dead. But you're right. We should get out of here."

Spike was halfway up the stairs before the others had even stood up. Buffy picked up the dagger, Giles would know how to destroy it. She wondered what had happened to the demon, where had he gone. Still, once the dagger was gone he wouldn't pose a threat anymore.

******

Anya jumped to her feet when the group entered the shop looking for Giles. Her eyes flitted from Xander to Willow and then she burst into tears, her spell hadn't worked. Xander pulled her into his arms, thinking her tears were with relief that he was still alive.

"Hey, I'm alright, don't cry."

Anya pulled away from him.

"You're going to dump me aren't you." She sobbed.

"What? Why would you think that?" Xander was even more puzzled by this outburst than he was at the magic display in the warehouse.

"You were locked up with Willow and I know what happened last time."

Xander smiled slightly before pulling Anya back into his arms.

"Anya, nothing happened with me and Willow. I don't love her, I love you."

She looked up at him, tears still falling down her cheeks. This was the first time he'd told her that he loved her. It felt nice.

"Xander, I love you too." She leant up and kissed him. When they parted Buffy walked over.

"Is Giles at home? We need to get him to destroy this dagger."

When Anya nodded the group headed for the door. They got outside and Spike stopped.

"Well, I'd love to say that this has been fun but you all know that's utter bollocks. Now if you don't mind I'm going home to sleep for a couple of centuries until this hole in my chest closes up."

Buffy turned back to the others. 

"Can you give me a minute guys. I'll catch up with you in a second"

As they walked ahead Buffy walked over and stood in front of Spike. This was going to be one of the hardest things she'd ever done.

"Spikethank you." 

He raised his eyebrows, this hadn't been expected. She never thanked him for anything, he'd just come to accept that. As usual though he was unable to keep his mouth shut.

"It's getting to be a habit Slayer, I help save the day and get my ass kicked in the process. Just one of the little perks of the life of Spike, and don't go thinking I did it to help you. Just protecting my own hide."

The smallest bit of warmth that had been in her eyes fell cold at this.

"I didn't expect anything more of you Spike, always looking out for number one."

"Listen Slayer, one of these days you'll learn that if you don't look out for yourself then no one else will." 

"I'm sorry you think that." She said softly before turning and walking into the night. Spike watched until she was out of sight.

"And one of these days you'll learn that I love you." He murmured before turning and walking home.

The End


End file.
